When Choosing Software Testing Tools, Is Consistency a “Feature”?

When Choosing Software Testing Tools, Is Consistency a “Feature”?

As a society, we tend to focus on the biggest winners – i.e. those who defy all the odds and manage to overcome unbelievable obstacles.

This tendency is especially pronounced in sports, with champions and home runs dominating the headlines.

But what about all the guys who make it to the Top 100 without ever quite reaching the #1 spot?

Those within this bracket are far from mediocre. In fact, their accomplishments are amazing – particularly those who consistently remain in the Top 100. After all, these athletes represent the crème de la crème out of 8 billion potential competitors.

But we only applaud the #1 spot and ignore the rest.

And that’s because we like winners. It doesn’t matter that most shooting stars eventually run out of fuel and fall back down to earth. We don’t care that the new kid on the block might lose momentum once the going gets tough.

For that #1 player, winning our attention is easy.

But winning our respect and support often proves a little more difficult.

Just think of all the top tennis players who maintain their rankings for decades even if they don’t rack up back-to-back victories every year. The quality of their playing remains consistent over time – despite new competitors and situations. These pro athletes won’t necessarily make the news every cycle. But it’s also difficult to ignore their commitment to excellence. When the going gets tough, these top performers fall back on methodical consistency to deliver on their promises and build long-lasting brands.

This consistency vs. novelty argument even applies to software testing.

Should We Be Scared of the New Kid on the Software Testing Block?

At any given moment, there will always be up and comers – i.e. shooting stars with tremendous potential. They help push boundaries and introduce new features that garnish a tremendous amount of attention.

So here’s a question…

Should you take a chance on promising upstarts or stick with those who consistently deliver sustainable value over many years?

This is not simply a hypothetical. It’s a question that personally resonates with us as we enter our 10th year of developing premium software testing tools.

Over the last decade, we’ve taken special care not to fly too close to the sun or too close to earth. Instead, we’ve threaded the needle by delivering consistent results that continue to benefit the community.

We routinely collect feedback from the Testuff community – before, during, and after every major update.

Do these accomplishments prevent our being overshadowed by newer or brighter shooting stars?

No. Just the opposite in fact.

But….

Quality Assurance Is a Process and Not a Snapshot in Time

If you view the world of software testing as a single snapshot in time, we are severely disadvantaged. At any given moment, there’ll always be vendors that offer more bells and whistles than we do.

But if you view software testing as a continuum – an ongoing process – then we are in excellent standing. Quality and consistency are not quick fixes. However, this regularity has allowed us to thrive. And we’ll continue investing in this consistency for one simple reason.

It works.

Will we ever reach the #1 spot in our sector?

Maybe. Maybe not.

But we definitely plan on sticking around for a very long time – even as shooting stars come and go.